Home is Where the Heart is
by Shenko007
Summary: Kakashi is used to losing people. How does he react when he manages to find and keep someone he loves?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would be a happy camper. But I don't and am satisfied with creating stories that involve lots of delicious pairings such as Kakashi and Iruka.

Author's Note (A/N): This is my first fanfic involving these two brave shinobi. Please enjoy the story and review as writers can only improve their skill with the help of others. However, no flamers. If you don't like this pairing, then kindly go somewhere else. If you do, then continue reading below!

Home is Where the Heart is

Chapter 1: A Simple Errand?!

It had been a simple mission: assassinate all targets, get the scroll, and escape unnoticed. Well, he successfully completed all three objectives but not unscathed. Several cuts covered his biceps, and a deep gash graced his side. Somehow, he underestimated his opponents, a rare mistake on his part. No, scratched that. It was the Hokage's mistake, a rare one on her part. Tsunade gave brief instructions to the assignment, saying that the people involved were indeed good shinobi but of course, not as good as Leaf shinobi.

The scroll was originally Konoha's, stolen from it several years ago during the attack by Oto and Suna villages. Luckily, it only contained information concerning the history of the kages, but who would go through all the trouble to steal it? Perhaps there was some secret message stored within the scroll.

Speaking about the scroll, it was nicely tucked away inside his vest, which was getting wetter and wetter by the minute. Damn! The wound was deeper than he thought. He quickly analyzed his surroundings before stopped on a tree branch. Right on the border between Fire and Water Country, he couldn't risk concentrating all his chakra on his wound. Shinobi could still be out, either on patrol or running errands like him. Errands. He needed to have a word with Tsunade about that. She dubbed the missions as "errands," as if it was easy. Normally for him, majority of the missions were not that difficult, thanks to his Sharingan and experience.

He managed to only slow the bleeding before a shuriken flew past him and hit the trunk just inches away from his face. He had anticipated being followed and thusly pretended to focus all his energies into healing himself.

A young shinobi, inexperienced and brash, followed him even within the territory of Konoha. The oak tree was half a mile into Fire country. Both legally and politically, Kakashi had every right to kill the pursuer. Unfortunately, he was running dangerously low on chakra, thanks to the skilled mist shinobi. He blocked a flying Chinese star, which crashed through the tree he was sitting near by. Wow, he needed to pay more attention otherwise the infamous Copy-nin would go down in history as the one was offed by an inexperienced nin.

Before he could do anything, twin water dragons came rushing towards at very high speed. Barely dodging it, he somehow ran into the enemy's nodachi, embedding itself into his shoulder. Fuck, this is not supposed to be happening. Out of desperation, he opened his sharingan and analyzed his opponent more clearly. This act itself was quite painful as usual copious amounts of chakra were used just to have it open. Now, he barely had enough to keep himself alive.

There was only thing to do.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Puffs of teleportation could be heard throughout the woods, placing the enemy into a defensive stance. Surrounding Kakashi in a protective circle were..

"Dogs?! You going to have dogs finish me off?"The shinobi was flabbergasted. There was no way in hell this could be the famous Hatake Kakashi. He smirked and performed a very familiar set of hand signs. Kakashi was ready for it though and he looked at Pakkun, a small pug with a bandanna on his head.

"You know what to do, my friend,"

"Because we've done it too many times," Pakkun sighed in reply and he lifted his haunches.

"Hai," Kakashi agreed, sighing heavily as he turned to the young nin in the heavy fog. A heavy sense of déjà vu blanketed Kakashi's senses briefly before a pained scream echoed through the grey layer of air. His prey was already caught by the nin-kin; Kakashi could smell his blood even through his hitaiate. The screams were cut short, only to be replaced by a soft gasp as Death greeted his prey in the form of chidori.

He let the body drop and collapsed heavily against the nearest tree trunk. The nin-kin bounded for him, Pakkun and Kato in lead.

"You know you over did it this time," Pakkun's question sounded more like a statement as Kakashi could only nod weakly. "You don't even have enough chakra to heal yourself."

"I...know…"

Saying that, he slowly stood up and he almost fell over as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him. To make matters worse, his left eye was throbbing painfully, as if the giver was sharing his pain as well.

Pakkun looked at him, his eyes frowned in concern as he took in his master's condition. Usually they awaited his commands, but in rare cases, the nin-kin have taken initiative to do things, such as getting their master home when he was too hurt to even say something.

"No…I…can get to my place ok," Kakashi managed to say, still haunched over as sweat rolled off his face and unto the ground.

_Kakashi, quit being a hero and let someone help you_

Kakashi's eyes widened as the thought insinuated in his mind. That's just something Obito would say to him. Or maybe the Yondaime. No, it would definitely be Obito. Concerned but exasperated.

Normally he would gladly give in, but he did have a reputation to uphold in Konoha. He was the infamous Hound, an ANBU member that is feared throughout the five countries and beyond too. His missions were usually S-ranks, because no one else would take them. Either family or something personal would tie them too closely to the village. Additionally, he always returns to the village on his own two feet, unless he was in a two-man team with his "eternal rival" Mito Gai. Although he wouldn't flat out and say it, Gai was one of the few he trusted with his life and having to be carried home by him would brook no argument from him. However, with anyone else, he usually declines their offer, respectfully of course.

Being on his own though, Kakashi made one more attempt to stand up and did so successfully as he ruthlessly pushed his pains in the back of his mind. He didn't dare look down at Pakkun when he ordered him and Bull to stay with him while Kato and the others should go ahead and get everything set up at his apartment.

He took a deep breath and looked forward to Konoha, his birthplace and future home.

Kato and Dairo teleported in their master's bedroom and sniffed the air before continuing to the bathroom. Kato, a bespectacled dog of medium size, reached up to a small brown cabinet hanging over the toilet. He pawed the door open and let Dairo hop on his back and run up to the cabinet. The little furry nin-ken bit on a corner of a dark red towel with blue trimmings and pulled it out successfully. With a strength that belied his little frame, he gripped the towel more firmly in his mouth and lightly jumped off Kato's head, the nails barely touching the sensitive dog's head.

Dairo landed smoothly on the cool tiles and spread the blanket, knowing that his master will pop in this exact location in several minutes. Kato nudged the lower cabinet open and pushed a tube of cream, already infused with Kakashi's chakra out, with his spotted paw. Suddenly, the air seemed to shift slightly and both dogs knew that Kakashi was arriving.

Kakashi gasped and heaved as he landed on the cool tiles, falling over as black dots danced across his field of vision. He blearily felt a paw pushing him over onto his back and saw concerned pairs of eyes looking down at him. The one thing he noticed before giving into the gentle darkness was how the eyes looked remarkably similar to Obito's eyes.

_Kakashi, go to sleep for once. I've got your back_.

"He's out," Pakkun reported and he looked to Bull, his stance haunched over and his head low as he was the one who had to lift his master and transport him here. The little pug sighed heavily and looked up at the other dogs.

"Bull, Kato, lift Kakashi up and Dairo, help me get his flak jacket off him."

Somehow, the dogs managed to do all that without dripping excess saliva on their master. Once the Sharingan-user was propped gently against Bull, the biggest nin-kin out of all his peers, Pakkun and Dairo tore the flak jacket, eliciting soft moans from their master. Bull gave a quiet growl to let Kakashi know that he was safe and in good hands. Dairo and Kato opened the tube, with Dairo using his paws to gently pop the lid open while Kato held it in his paws. Kato squeezed some onto Pakkun's already stretched out paw and he watched as Pakkun lightly smeared the cream on several bruises that mottled the pale torso. The open wounds were just going have to wait until either their master wakes or have one of them fetch Tsunade.

From experience, the little pug realized that Kakashi would wake up a few minutes after passing out from a serious injury and he knows that getting Tsunade would not be taken well with his master. So, Pakkun opted for the first choice and true to his word, Kakashi's eyes fluttered open.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter: Memorials

Kakashi moaned as he looked at the white ceiling and then did a cursory glance at his ninken beside him.

"We were almost carrying you to Tsunade," Pakkun said to his master, "but you seem to be ok."

Kakashi, however, didn't feel ok. His body ached all over and the sharingan burned, even when closed and covered by his hitai-ae. He tried to get up and pain flared throughout his entire body; he coughed up blood and the ninken crowded even closer to their master. _No, he felt like shit and hot_. Damn, was that shuriken poisioned? The thought was interrupted by another reflux and his body trembled in the aftermath. Pakkun looked at his master in concern and with a feeling that he may regret this, he barked an order to the ninken to fetch Tsunade.

"Pakkun...I'm...fine..." In between words, Kakashi would throw up more spittle and the undigested lunch he ate before the mission.

"Forgive me for being forward, but I believe that even this may be out of your league to heal yourself," Pakkun pointed out quite bluntly. The ninken awaited for their master's orders and Pakkun glared at them before sighing heavily.

"It seems that my partners in crime are no longer my accomplices and seem to agree with you on your current position."

"Good. I'm the master...here..." The sentence trailed off as Kakashi fell into a healing sleep, his breaths slowing down and his body relaxing even further into Bull's flanks. The ninken whimpered at their hurt master and Pakkun ran out of the room to fetch the one person Kakashi wouldn't mind seeing and one person who could actually heal him with almost the same skill as Tsunade.

"NARUTO!!!"

"J-J-Just hold on! Wait!!"

A body was thrown across the restaurant and landed in the street side with a dull thud. A young girl stomped angrily after the guilty person and she raised her fist again at the prone figure who was just deciding to lay still and play possum.

"Have you been teaching those kids the Sexy No Jutsu again!"

"N-N-no! I mean...only the original! Oi, Sakura! Wait!!!"

Sakura huffed in reply and she punched the ground, forcing her unfortunate victim to fly in the air with his arms flailing uselessly in his attempt to fly away from the scary Tsunade protege. She jumped up and put him in a headlock, beating his head with her fist, all the while angrily shouting at him for teaching obscene jutsu to younger generations.

The rest of their teammates just stood back at a safe distance in case Naruto recriminated them to Sakura and spreading her wrath to the spectators. Sai looked at his book for reference and read the following line:

'A woman would often show their love for you in displays of anger and violence.'

_It seems that Sakura has loved Naruto from the beginning then. At least since I started working with him..._

"Humph. Naruto really needs to stop pissing off Sakura. They're going to ruin the streets even more with their fist matches." Shikamaru dug his small finger in his ear, more out of blocking his friend's screams of help than for cleaning. Neiji's head nodded in agreed and Hinata looked on at Naruto with a familiar longing that was still extant even after his absence.

"Sakura! We have a mission tomorrow. Naruto needs to be in top shape tomorrow for it's a B-rank type," Shikamaru shouted at the bickering pair and the cloud dust settled to the ground, with Sakura holding the blonde by the neck. She punched him one more time and then dumped him to the ground. She crossed her arms and stared at the quivering mass of the jinchuuriki.

"If I find out more about this, I'll kill you!"

"Sorry, Sakura...you're really scary."

"Say what?!!"

"Oi, Sakura! We're leaving you with the bill!" Ino yelled, hoping that would divert her attention from Naruto. Sakura heard Ino and tossed her friend to the side; she ran inside the restaurant and gave the lady of the house her dinner payment. The group still waited for her and Naruto but footsteps running towards alerted them and several kunais were out at their sides in case it was an enemy.

"Pakkun? What are you doing here?"

"Kakashi needs Sakura, right now!" Pakkun demanded of the pink-haired shinobi and Naruto looked at his friend. He gave her a nod and turned to the others, asking if they wanted more bbq. All he got was answering moans and sighs. Sakura watched her friends leave before following the small brown pug back to Kakashi's place.

_"Obito!!"_

_The rock shinobi's dagger slashed through soft tissue and blood splattered over his front. Kakashi's vision in his left eye suddenly blackened and pain flared throughout his head. He cried out and landed on his back on the tree. Obito immediately went to his side to see if the wound was serious and gasped at seeing the wide slash on Kakashi's left side of his face. _

_ "Careful! He's still out there! Don't let your guard down." Kakashi managed to say, his right hand rummaging through the med kit Rin had given him for his graduation gift. Obito nodded and he stood up. His eyes teared up at the sight of Kakashi and his useless eye. If he had been more careful, he would have heard the kunai flying to him. But his thoughts were more occupied with Rin and the possibility of her being killed, especially if the enemies tortured her enough to get new intel on them. Now, not only Rin was in trouble because of his clumsiness, but Kakashi was hurt too. He took off his goggles and wiped the tears from his eye. He remembered what Minato lectured to him just the other day about how his goggles were just there to shield him and it was virtually impossible to get dirt in his eyes. He wanted to protect his comrades and crying like a baby is not going to help them._

_ Kakashi didn't know what happened next, only that there was a dead Rock shinobi lying at his feet, his bloody kunai lying out of his outstretched hand. When he found Obito with red eyes, he thought of only one thing: he saved me! _

_ Unfortunately, Obito was only able to put his eyes to use once to save Kakashi from being sliced across the neck, a wound that would seal his death in seconds. When the large boulder crushed his friend, Kakashi slammed his fists in frustration; Obito was rather calm at his fate and he gave Kakashi a belated gift. His sharingan eye. _

_ "...I'm already going to die...but...I can become your eye...and from now on I will be see the future..."_

_Suddenly, Obito appeared before the Copy-nin in his grown up form. His hair was exactly as it was when he was younger, just longer. The face had only one red eye and his friend smiled at him. _

_ "Cheer up, Kakashi. You have friends now, people you care about it. Plus, there's a special someone waiting for you."_

_Another person appeared next to the deceased Uchiha and Kakashi immediately recognized her as Obito's crush._

_ "Rin! So, the news were true," Kakashi murmured quietly, his heart sinking at the confirmation of Rin's death._

_ "Kakashi-kun...I'm sorry..." Rin's face saddened and she started to cry._

_ "Geez, Kakashi! We've been dead for years and you can still make this girl cry! Baka!" Obito chided his friend before bringing Rin closer to him, kissing her on top of her head. "Better wake up, idiot jounin. Time's a wasting." Obito's single eye winked mischievously at a puzzled Kakashi before disappearing altogether with Rin._

Kakashi's single eye opened and his body jolted out of bed. Two immediate things occurred upon his awakening: first was the unusual lethargy in his body and secondly, a pair of hand pushed down on his chest. Kakashi thought that the pain alone was enough to put him back into bed; he didn't need human reminders of that.

He wasn't surprised to find Tsunade looking down at him. I thought I told Pakkun to not get Tsunade. Pakkun, to his credit, was not around for Kakashi's scolding and Kakashi relented to his fate with the Master of medicinal jutsu.

"Kakashi, you were supposed to report directly to me after the mission!"

"Maa, but my apartment was so much closer," Kakashi casually replied but Tsunade scoffed at him, her arms crossed underneath her bosom that was much too large for her dress.

"Impudent brat. I don't know why I put up with you," Tsunade scolded her ANBU soldier, but her smile lightened her harsh tone. "Thanks to Sakura, the poison didn't spread to your chakra system or you would be dead. Or worse, a civilian."

"Sakura? She didn't see?!"

Tsunade shook her head in answer to his question.

"One of your ninken had the brains enough to hide your ANBU mask someplace safe. You really should take more care of yourself, Kakashi."

There was an unreadable expression on the Godaime's face; then her arms uncrossed themselves to lie at her side and her face hardened. _She means business now_.

"When you can, give me the details on your mission. And your Genin team are going for their first B-rank mission. They want to see you before they leave."

"But Naruto isn't even a Chuunin; how-"

"The Elders have found in their infinite wisdom that Naruto has been a Chuunin ever since he started training with Jiraiya."

"Hmm. Does he still aspire to be Hokage?" Kakashi had to ask and Tsunade smiled at her friend's impertinence.

"What do you think? He keeps interrupting me every hour of the day by saying I better keep his seat warm. Humph. Stupid brat."

Kakashi chuckled but the the laughter forced some of his broken ribs to move and he groaned as he hunched over in his bed.

"One more thing before I leave, Kakashi,"

"Hmm?"

"Laughing will improve your recovery rate," Tsunade said before leaving in a teleportation smoke, signifying that she used a travelling jutsu to get to her office before Shizune does.

That left Kakashi quite confused and he laid back in bed. His head turned to the left, to the picture frame on his nightstand. It depicted him facing away from Obito who was too busy looking at Rin. Their sensei was standing behind him and he could have sworn that the smile on his sensei's face grew even bigger. Obito seemed to be looking more at him now instead of Rin. He blinked his eyes a couple of times and the picture reverted back to normal. _I must be going insane._

The Memorial Park was perhaps the most unvisited site out of all available in the village of Konoha. Although it allowed those who lost their loved ones to grieve and to visit, people rarely would go and do that. The dead should be resting peacefully and the shinobi were too occupied with securing the village. The majority of those who were left behind felt that visiting their dead would refreshen the pain and so the Park was left desolate, with only the dead as company. However, it was guaranteed one visitor every day and today was no different than any others.

"I'm sorry I haven't been visiting you for a while," Kakashi apologized to the name on the marble tablet. He rubbed his finger over the name and realized that the name was almost erased from existence. _I really need to stop doing that_.

"Tsunade has been keeping me busy, giving me missions and supervision over Naruto."

His heart twisted painfully at the mention of the Yondaime's legacy and unwanted memories crept on him.

_Screams of the wounded and dying echoed throughout the ravaged landscape of Konoha. Most predominant was the unholy roars of an angered demon present in its frightening form. The moon itself seemed to reflect the bloody Kyuubi and skies were blackened with jutsus being thrown at the nine-tailed beast of legend and myth. Brave shinobi drove themselves forward in a desperate attempt at preventing the Kyuubi from getting any closer to the village and the thousands of lives it withheld behind closed green gates. Both chunnin and Jounin partook in the fight; some were killed in the immediate onslaught as the tails whipped around them, creating a devastating whirlwind that uprooted trees and tore the land into pieces. A wounded chunnin screamed as the Kyuubi's front foot stepped on him the way a human would step on a fly. He scrapped the remains of his victim and licked at the blood dripping off his sharp claws. _

_ A kunai zipped past his whiskers, barely missing them and embedded itself into a tree. The Kyuubi snarled at the impudence of insects crawling around him and his mouth gaped open to release a red chakra blast. _

_ "We have to hold on until the Yondaime appears!" Someone ordered to his comrades as the third wave pushed themselves to the brink of death, to do anything that will stall the beast long enough for their hokage to show up. _

_Kakashi himself had helped out by nullifying some of its jutsus; his eye had allowed him to see the chakra's movement and thus gave him the opportunity to evade any attacks that killed anyone in their paths. However, he realized to his horror that the more he used his gift, the more chakra it used, and he noticed that his attacks and defense were slowing down. He barely blocked another tail with an earth-based jutsu and a paw swatted at him, sending his body flying in the air like a bothersome gnat. The Jounin would have landed to his death were it not for a set of familiar arms and the unmistakable yellow hair._

_ "I'm here Kakashi. Sorry I'm late but the preparations took longer than I had anticipated,"_

_ "Pre...parations?"_

_ "Yes."_

_The Yondaime didn't look at his eyes when he answered his question and Kakashi felt his chest ache at the possibility of losing another close friend. His mind screamed at his body to move. As if the Yondaime could read his mind, a finger was placed on his forehead and the dark abyss overwhelmed his already tired body. Kakashi's eyes fought to stay open but his body was too tired to listen to his mental commands and his body relaxed, placed in a forced sleep jutsu the Yondaime had cast on his student. The young man gave Kakashi a sad smile and he placed the young boy on the ground. _

_ "I'm sorry, Kakashi. Please understand why I have to do this..."_

_ Kakashi came to several moments later and observed that the scene was unnervingly quiet. Dust settled disturbingly over the battlefield, covering the wounded and blanketing those of who passed violently into the next life. Where __was the 4__th__ ? His body ached in protest when the young boy stood up on shaky feet and a large circle presented itself to his eyes. His right one was burning and welling in tears. It was as if Obito was crying. But why? He approached the circle slowly and when he got closer, he could hear people murmur to each other. The 4__th__ was used ubiquitously and he hastened his pace, shoving through the mass that crowded around a single figure._

_ His eyes widened at the sight of Jiraiya holding the 4th's supine form in his arms and he rushed to his teacher's side. _

_ "Sensei! Sensei!!"_

_His teacher's eyes opened and Kakashi was shocked at seeing how tired and lifeless they were. They were not the usual clear, sharp blue eyes. These were the eyes of a dead man, dull and pained. _

_ "Ka...kashi..."_

_ "Sensei! You'll be alright!" Kakashi begged, despite his eyes roving over his teacher's wounded form and taking in his low chakra level that hovered dangerously over the danger zone before death was imminent. No, his sensei was dying. There was no way he could have survived whatever he just did. Preparations for something he did._

_ "Ka...kashi...promise...me..."_

_ "Yes, sensei! Anything! Please don't die! Please!" Kakashi's eyes teared up and he held his teacher's frail hand in his. _

_ "Promise me that you will look after Naruto. Promise me that this village will look upon him as a hero...not as the container..."_

_Kakashi gasped at his master's words and he looked up at Jiraiya for confirmation. When he only received a slight nod and a grim expression, Kakashi knew what Minato meant by preparations. He used the Demonic Soul Seal Jutsu! That's too risky! Now wonder he put a sleeping jutsu on me!_

_ "I promise, sensei," was all Kakashi could say, despite all the things he wanted to shout at Minato for being stupid, for loving the village more than itself. He wanted to scream at his teacher that his son would be an abomination, an outcast, a hated jinchuuriki. All those things he wanted to say, he couldn't and when he vowed to keep his promise, Minato's eyes seemed to brighten and a content smile graced his tired face._

_ "That's...good...I...will get to Kushina...Obito...Rin...thanks...Ka...kashi..." The sentence drifted off and his sensei's eyes closed, forever closing off those crystalline blue orbs to the world. Kakashi's fists clenched and he slammed his fists to the ground in frustration. He hated this life, hated everything that was shinobi. Being a shinobi was asking for death and dealing with death constantly. Obito's eye burned hotly and Kakashi cried out in pain, both mental and physical. He had lost that final tie to his past. He had hoped that if Minato survived, he would survive the deaths of his father, Obito and Rin, the teammates he had failed to protect, even as their Jounin captain. He had failed in everything and the failure to protect his sensei tore through his soul like a knife. Jiraiya did not say anything; he only held his beloved student closer to his chest and he looked to the skies. It's raining...perhaps the Heavens are crying too..._

Kakashi's gifted eye burned hotly again at the memory and Kakashi clutched at it in reflex. _You're still crying, even after all those years. Eh Obito?_

_Yes, scarecrow. Now suck it up like a man_.

Kakashi gasped at the reply. It sounded as if Obito was standing right next to him but Kakashi did not feel any chakra present. _I must be going crazy_.

_I think anyone would go crazy standing around the dead for however long you've been doing_

Kakashi resigned himself to his theory that hearing voices was the first sign of insanity.


	3. First Sign of Insanity Arc

**A/N**: I'm not sure if I mentioned this already, but this is AU from Sasuke and Naruto's fight. Naruto only spends a year with Jiraiya for external training. Because he was doing so well, Jiraiya sends a request to Tsunade for his participation in the next Jounin exam, which occurs a few months before Chapter 1. As a result of his outstanding results in the Jounin exam, Tsunade has decided that Naruto could start training for ANBU. This is where this chapter is at, in terms of timeline. If I left anything out, please feel free to leave a review! Please ignore any mistakes...

_blah_ thought

_/blah/_ Voices in Kakashi's head

**First Sign of Insanity Arc I – Voices of the Past, part I**

Kakashi didn't return to his apartment until later that evening, his unwillingness to leave the Memorial Park keeping him there with painful memories for a while followed by having to go see the Hokage. Even he had to answer a call from the Hokage, who most likely wanted to either give him another mission or check up on him for wounds received from a previous mission. He had wondered why the Mist Nin were so bent on preventing that scroll from being stolen. A smile grew underneath the hitaie-te and Kakashi thought wryly that the scroll was originally Konoha's. Although it was strictly forbidden for any ninjas, including ANBUs, to break the seal of a retrieval scroll, they were certainly weren't prevented from asking questions about it. That didn't necessarily mean they would be answered and the Godaime was fast becoming famous for being extremely tight-lipped about them, even to him. None would dare challenge her for answers, unless they wanted to spend a month in the hospital.

There was a strangled laugh when a particular memory came up in Kakashi's mind. There is one person who could do it, one who will surpass Tsunade herself in both strength and intelligence. Unfortunately, that time, the kid had no chance. Nada, none. He may have just mastered the basics of Rasengan, but that one finger flick from the blonde woman put him down, hard and fast. He didn't see it himself. That event occurred after the sighting of and the subsequent skirmish with two S-rank ninjas, the infamous Itachi and his partner, Kisame of the Hidden Rain village. The Copy-nin was a very good ninja; no, he was an excellent ninja. He became Jounin at the age of 13 and then ANBU captain five years later. His 'gift' allowed him to copy any techniques thrown at him but even this eye couldn't withstand the Tsukuyomi technique of Itachi's. He fell underneath the merciless onslaught of that other world, the one Itachi was the sole manipulator. The awful dreams after that caused cold shivers to travel down his spine. Dreams where he wished he could have woken up from. Yondaime had blamed him for failing to protect Naruto, for training Sasuke the Chidori when he himself knew that the boy wasn't ready for it. Rin and Obito taunted him without restraint while images of his father's body flickered interminably, sending him into a deeper state of unconsciousness, one that only Tsunade could bring him out.

He could almost hear their jeers and for once, just once, he let them hurt him. He needed to be hurt, to be punished for his past mistakes. Then, as soon as the jeers and malicious hurts went away, he shunted off the pain in his mind, shoving them behind a closed door. The Hawk screeched again, its talons gripping his shoulder tightly. The Copy-nin gave another sigh and his hands made the appropriate signs for a teleportation jutsu. His body disappeared in a cloud of smoke and it seemed as if the Memorial Park was holding its breath itself for clouds rolled by, pregnant with rain that was soon loosed unto the world below it.

-o0o-

A small male hand rapped softly on the heavy wooden door of the Hokage's Office. There were sounds of movements accompanied by the rustling of papers before a loud yell expelled from within.

_Damn woman! So troublesome and that's the reason why!_

The recently promoted Jounin opened the door and strode into the office, the door closing shut behind him with a light click. He had been expecting to see the Hokage sitting at her desk, looking over the reports. He also expected to see her two assistants standing on either side of her, a dark-haired female holding a pig in her arms posted on the left while Sakura mirror-imaged her. What he was not expecting was the orange-haired person lounging against the wall, a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. _What is Naruto doing here? I thought he was still on that mission?_

"Oy! Baa-chan! How about letting Shikamaru do it?"

"Gaki! I'm Hokage here. Just stand there and shut up!"

"Tch. I was called from a middle of the game with Asuma-sensei for this?" Shikamaru muttered loud enough for them to hear them but they continued glaring at each other, veins popping out of their foreheads. Sakura and Shizune didn't say anything, not wanting to risk their Master's wrath changing from Naruto to them. It was bad enough during training sessions.

It was as if both had just noticed he was there and Tsunade composed herself quickly, her eyes roving down the report she held in her hand, a scrawl at the bottom with the Kazekage's name printed beneath it.

"Kakashi-kun is on his way," the Godaime started, getting straight to the point of her meeting. "I have had no ANBU sightings of the Akatsuki members near our borders, not yet."

Naruto's eyes hardened and Shikamaru was slightly taken aback by the cold expression on the usually bright face. It was as if an entirely different person was standing there, using Naruto's face, impersonating his body. His clothes had changed too. He no longer wore that hideous orange jumpsuit. Instead, he too wore a Jounin outfit, similar to Shikamaru's, and as the Jounin continued his examination of his friend, he too noticed that Naruto had grown taller as well. It was as if that year with Jiraiya had changed him so much in so little time. He didn't notice this sudden change yesterday and his mind went over everything that had gone on.

"Shikamaru, the Suna Village is interested in repairing our relationships and has conveyed its intention in sending over an ambassador."

An eyebrow tipped upwards at the news. Tsunade ignored it and kept going, not expecting Shikamaru to say anything.

"As it stands, it is in both of the villages' interest to strength the ties between us as we have bigger problems to deal with and that's the Akatsuki."

"Hmm. Didn't Itachi say that they won't bother us for three years?" Shikamaru was curious to know why this certain time limit was given. Was it to allow the organization gather the other jinchuuriki? If Naruto was in the village, it would prove bothersome to have to protect him all the time.

"Yes, but I don't want us sitting on our asses and doing nothing while the Akatsuki are out there, doing what the Gods know what. Hence, I'm appointing you as both Chuunin Examiner and Konoha's ambassador."

"What? Tsunade-sama, with all due respect, I'm not very good with people, especially with women."

Tsunade gave him a deadly smirk and Shikamaru knew that something troublesome was brewing. Sakura and Shizune had their hands clamped over their mouth, doing their best to stifle their snickers.

"That's too bad, Shikamaru-_kun_. Temari will be the Ambassador and _you_ will have to show her around every weekend of the month until she is satisfied with the proceedings. If she's not happy, then the _Kazekage_ will be hounding after you personally."

_Geez, it is almost as if I'm courting her! Which I'm not!_

"Sounds like you're going on a date," a voice quipped and it wasn't Naruto who spoke this time.

"Kakashi-sense!" Naruto's eyes brightened at the sight of the silver-haired Jounin, who was perched quite comfortably on the windowsill with a book in his left hand.

"Yo," Eyes crinkled in a smile and the Copy-nin waved a hand at them in his usual salute.

"Oy, baa-chan! Since Kakashi-sensei is here, does this mean we have another mission?"

Everyone in the room could see that their friend was just itching for another assignment. He was no longer leaning against the wall but rather jumped for joy.

"No! You will be training with Kakashi-sensei, starting today!"

The reaction was immediate and Naruto deflated. Sakura almost felt sorry for her teammate, _almost_. Kakashi chuckled at Naruto's response and he walked towards his student, clearly mindful of both the changes in the clothes as well as his attitude. _He's grown a lot. He looks a lot like Minato-sensei_.

/_That's because he is my son_./

There was a strangled gasp and Kakashi stepped back, his hand hovering over his student's head. Naruto's eyes blinked in confusion at his teacher's weird behaviour, weird even for his teacher.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's the matter?"

Everyone's attention focused on the Copy-nin, their concern seen in the eyes. Tsunade began to stand up but Kakashi gave another smile and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Maa, it's strange now that you seem taller than you used to be. I was afraid you would be short for all your life."

Naruto growled and his hand smacked against the Jounin, his strength knocking the Copy-nin silly off his feet.

"Baka! I'm a man now! And I'm taller than Sakura!"

Laughter roared out in the room. It helped lift the tension of Tsunade's news and the Godaime was happy to see that Naruto was the same Naruto as before; he would need that fire inside him to survive the ANBU trials. The Godaime let her subordinates laugh for a few moments before putting a serious face, to which Shizune and Sakura took notice of immediately. Naruto was still ranting at a senseless Kakashi, oblivious to the mood shift until Sakura in turn smacked him across the head.

"NARUTO! Quit joking around!"

"Ouch! You're scary, Sakura!"

"And Tsunade-sama is scarier than me! Pay attention, idiot!"

"Sakura! That's enough," Tsunade barked at her apprentice, although inside she was grateful that Sakura was one of the few people who could get Naruto's attention. "I need you and Shizune to do something for me. Go with Shikamaru here and retrieve some antler shavings. I need them to be of a specific species. Shikamaru would know which one."

Shikamaru looked ready to say something but one stoney glance from her quickly cut his protests off. Both Shizune and Sakura stood there, confused by her strange request. There were enough deer antler shavings to last them for a few more months. Why did she need more?

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Her demand was met with hasty answers of 'Yes, Godaime' and they rushed to get out of the office, not wanting to feel the wrath of their Hokage. The only people left were her Jounin and the loud-mouthed brat.

"Huh? Why'd you send them away, baa-chan?"

"Because this is a very private matter, Naruto-kun," was a curt reply and she called out a name to which a cloud of smoke popped into being and then revealed a young man dressed in ANBU attire. "I want a silencing jutsu spell replaced."

"Hai." The young ANBU made the appropriate hand movements and Naruto felt something pulse around them.

"We've been short of ANBUs recently and there's an opening available. You are the most available candidate."

Tsunade wasn't mistaken when she didn't say 'most capable' for while it was true that Naruto had done extremely well in his training with Jiraiya and excelled in the Jounin exams, he was not yet ready to be an ANBU. In addition, her advisors were being a royal in the ass with their protests of Naruto being out in the open and should be protected by an entourage of ANBUs themselves. Danzou, she remembered, became very opinionated when Tsunade requested Naruto to be her successor and she knew that he was up to something. He then suggested that only ANBUs can be elected by the village to become a Hokage. _And he will make a great Hokage_.

"ANBU? Really?"

"This is no cakewalk, Naruto! The training is hard and difficult. You will have to learn different strategies and if you don't pass the test, you will lose all chance of being Hokage!"

She hated being hard on the brat, but Naruto had to know that ANBU wasn't like his genin training. It was brutal and unforgiving. The tests themselves had caused many to go temporarily insane and the missions were very nightmarish, in both the doing and the aftermath. She herself had to oversee ANBUs and analyze the levels of psychosis. If one person exceeded their limit, she was forced to 'retire' them. Kakashi was one of her many patients but instead of 'retiring' him as it were, she let him have a month leave, without having to take any mission, even of a D-rank. Whatever had happened doing that month she would never know but Kakashi did look better. He also acted calmer as well and she wondered if maybe seeing Naruto as a young child soothed his frayed nerves.

"Well, if that's the way it is, then I'll give it everything I've got!" The blonde jinchuuriki beamed at her and Tsunade smiled, knowing that if Naruto excelled at anything, it would be in his determination to not give up.

"Good, because both Kakashi and Jiraiya will be training you,"

"WHAT?"

-TBC-


End file.
